Where the Angels Fall

Where the Angels Fall is the ninth studio album by Australian band the Cat Empire, released on 25 August 2023 through Two Shoes Records. It was co-produced by Felix Riebl, Ollie McGill, Ross Irwin, and Andy Baldwin, who had previously worked on their self-titled debut in 2003. Recording took place from October to November 2022 at the Merri-bek City Band Room, a community music space in Brunswick, Victoria. It is the first album released by the band following the departure of original members Ryan Monro, Harry James Angus, Will Hull-Brown and Jamshid Khadiwhala, and the first with new members Grace Barbé, Daniel Farrugia, Neda Rahmani and Lazaro Numa.

The album peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Australian Artist Albums Chart, and produced four singles; "Thunder Rumbles", "Rock 'n' Roll", "Money Coming My Way" and "Owl". To promote the album, the band made several television appearances and a tour of Australia and North America. It was distributed digitally by Ditto Music, and on vinyl by Diggers Factory. The release of the album came more than four and a half years after their previous album, Stolen Diamonds (2019), the longest gap between their albums to date.

Background and recording

In March 2021, Monro, the group's original bassist, left the band. It was announced in September that Hull-Brown, Angus and Khadiwala would also leave after a final set of shows, the last of which took place at the 2022 Byron Bay Bluesfest. Riebl and McGill stated that they would lead a new iteration of the group, with the intent of "taking the band forward into its next global chapter as a re-imagined, vibrant, cross-cultural, and joyful collective of musicians and artists.” On 6 September 2022, it was announced that the independent management company Lemon Tree Music would sign the Cat Empire.

The album was the first recorded with the band's newly altered lineup, the new members of which were announced on the group's social media platforms in late 2022. Daniel Farrugia, the band's new drummer, had been their touring drummer for several years, filling in for Will Hull-Brown before his eventual departure. Neda Rahmani was a longtime friend of the band for many years before joining. She stated that the decision to join the group was a "logical move, and made creative sense to me - I didn't need to deliberate over it for a second". Grace Barbé toured with the band in Australia in 2019 before joining them. Jamie Searle, a member of her band, learnt on that tour that some of the original members were planning to leave the Cat Empire, and suggested that Barbé would be a good candidate for the role of bass player. Lazaro Numa joined The Empire Horns as a trumpeter after Irwin heard his playing in "some of Australia's best Afro-Cuban bands". It is also the band's first release since The Cat Empire (2003) to be produced by Andy Baldwin.

Recorded of the album commenced on 10 October 2022, and concluded on 21 November 2022. in the Merri-bek City Band Room, a community music space in Brunswick, which was still under construction during recording. The current iteration of the hall, which has existed in various forms since 1882, was set up by Phil Noy, a friend of the band who had played saxophone on two of their previous albums. Riebl stated that "we made an album in the EGREM studios in Havana. [...] That studio had a beautiful roominess, something we were trying to recapture in the Merri-bek City Band Room."

The album features a more expansive production style than the band's prior releases. They took advantage of the larger recording space to book more musicians, and a total of 75 musicians appear on the album, compared to the band's previous record of 20 on Two Shoes (2005). Of the decision to include so many musicians, Riebl said;

"When we came to record the album, I wanted to think about the Cat Empire more as a community of musicians than just a like-for-like replacement of band members. [...] It was really important for us to treat every song like a world of its own, and so we brought in a lot of musicians to create and reflect that."

"Instead of layering up three horns a few times to get a nine-horn sound, we’d get nine horn players", he said. "The space we'd chosen to work in allowed us to make a clear decision: no doubling things where we could help it. We just needed to book more musicians!” The band developed their own custom-made samples for use on the album, rather than using existing ones. Some of them feature Barbé and Rahmani singing in their native tongues of Seychellois Creole and Portuguese, respectively. It is the band's first album since So Many Nights (2007) to feature a string section, although Steal the Light (2013) featured violinist Al Burkoy of Tinpan Orange.

Composition and sound

Where the Angels Fall features an eclectic mixture of musical styles, including Latin music, Afro-Cuban jazz and reggae. The influence of Latin music is evident on tracks such as "Thunder Rumbles" and "Oh Mercy", while "Owl" and "Rock 'n' Roll" are influenced by flamenco. Other genre-spanning songs on the album include the reggae-influenced cut "Walls", and the rock and roll song "Dance the Night Away".

"Thunder Rumbles" opens the album with a sousaphone riff, performed by Jay Scarlett. The title of the album is taken from a line in the second verse, "I like the space 'tween words where the angels fall". The band described the lyrics as "a brawl of celebration", and the song as "high-octane from start to finish". The Horns of Leroy appear prominently on the track. "Boom Boom" was written about "a city of music reemerging," in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. It began as a vocal hook by Riebl, before more elements were added. Mohamed Camara and Boubacar Gaye, percussionists from Ausecuma Beats, appear on the song. "Money Coming My Way" was written about the cost of living. The Heidelberg Wind Ensemble, who happened to be rehearsing in the space while the band was recording, made a guest appearance on the song. Baldwin plays the role of the police officer in the song's bridge.

"Dance the Night Away" was written about Riebl's then six-year-old daughter Anya. The song "Owl" began life as a jam session between Riebl, McGill, and Richard and Johnny Tedesco, flamenco musicians and friends of the band. The group described it as "the most epic, expansive song on the album". Jeff Jenkins of STACK called it "thrilling", and dubbed it the album's highlight. "Be With You Again" was written by Riebl about the death of his younger brother Max, who died at the age of 30 from cancer. It features a Brazilian drumming section, conducted by Rahmani, and another appearance from the Heidelberg Wind Ensemble. It is Riebl's favourite track on the album. The album's final track, "Drift Away", is a duet between Riebl and Barbé, who sings a verse in Seychellois Creole. It was influenced by the album An Evening with Belafonte/Mouskouri.

Release and promotion

On 4 August 2022, the band released the first teaser of their new music on their YouTube channel. Various teasers were released in the following months on their social media. A snippet of "Thunder Rumbles", the album's lead single, was released on 27 March 2023, and the full song was released three days later. The song premiered on Double J. It peaked at No. 1 on the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (AMRAP) Metro Charts, remaining in that position for two weeks. The song's music video was directed by Nick Campbell and produced by Josh Harris. Giulia McGauran, who designed the album cover, provided creative direction for the video. Her work on the packaging inspired the video's visuals. It was filmed with a single camcorder, and inspired by music videos from the 1980s and 1990s.

On May 12, the band revealed the album's release date and album cover, and "Rock 'n' Roll" was released as the second single. The song's release was accompanied by a lyric video, in which a pair of headphones travel through various pairs of hands. It was filmed on their 2023 tour of Europe and Australia. The song debuted at No. 1 on the AMRAP Metro Charts, and stayed in that position for two weeks.

"Money Coming My Way" was released as the album's third single on 22 June. The song's music video depicts the members of the band, dressed as employees, conducting a robbery of a grocery store. It was directed by Josh Harris. "I don't think we've ever had so much fun making a video clip," said Riebl of the filming. It peaked at No. 2 on the AMRAP Metro Charts, kept off the No. 1 position by "Lookin' Out" by King Stingray. The band announced a tour a month later. The final single from the album, "Owl", was released on 4 August. Riebl and McGill made a guest appearance on The Project on 23 August to discuss the album. On the day before the album's release, "Oh Mercy", "Walls" and "Drift Away" were released on the band's YouTube channel, and they performed on ABC Radio National.

Where the Angels Fall was released on 25 August 2023. It was made available as a CD, LP and digital download. A music video for "Boom Boom", similar in style to the video for "Thunder Rumbles" and directed by Campbell, was also released on the day. A launch party was held at the Merri-bek City Band Room to mark the album's release. It peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Australian Artist Albums Chart. Over August and September, a four-part documentary on the album's recording was released. Riebl, McGill and Rahmani guest programmed on Rage on the 16th of September. It was their second time guest programming on the show - they had previously hosted it in April 2004.

Touring

The band supported the album with a world tour of Australia and North America, which they announced on 27 June. It began in September with a show at the Enmore Theatre, in Sydney. The Australian leg of the tour consisted of six shows, the last of which took place at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne on 6 October. The Australian-New Zealand band Coterie supported the band on every show of the Australian leg. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Steph Strings supported them on every show except for the first, where Sri-Lankan born musician Roshani took her place.

They embarked on the North American leg of the tour on 18 October, with a show at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall in Florida. After playing ten shows in the United States, they travelled to Canada, where they played four consecutive shows, once again supported by Strings. They went back to the U.S. on 6 November for nine shows, before returning to Canada on 20 November, where they played four shows in a row. The final show of the tour, supported by Marissa Mur, took place in Mexico City at the Auditorio Blackberry on 26 November 2023. The Edinburgh ensemble High Fade supported them on all of their U.S. dates. In the following month, they appeared at three music festivals. On 3 December, they performed at the SummerSalt festival at Torquay Common, and six days later, they played at the Music at the Park festival at Mornington Park. The following day, they performed at the first Let the Good Times Roll festival at Memorial Park, on the Ocean Stage.

Critical reception

The album received generally positive reviews. Orpheo stated that the album was "packed with explosive, diverse sounds and vibrant energy, as well as intimate and heartfelt moments that will leave listeners captivated from start to finish". They praised the album for "encapsulat[ing] the dynamics of their live shows". Marta Terrasa of Mondo Sonoro said that the album "recovers the enthusiasm of their beginnings and adds all the baggage of an extensive career", and that "you'd have to live in the bowels of the earth not to succumb to the euphoric pulsations of the Cat Empire, if only for a little while". Un Disco Al Día's Fernando Neira dubbed the album "a genuine, efficient and effective display; a painkiller with a spirit as colourful as the cover", but said that "happiness can get tiring, believe it or not, and some euphoric episodes, such as "Coming Back Again" become rather showy and excessive".

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes.

Charts

References

External links

• Where the Angels Fall at Discogs (list of releases)
• Where the Angels Fall at MusicBrainz (list of releases)

1. The Cat Empire
2. Mitski
3. Angels Fall (film)
4. Dance the Night Away
5. Angels Fall (song)
6. Angel: After the Fall
7. Where Angels Fear to Tread
8. List of songs recorded by the Cat Empire
9. The Cat Empire discography
10. Palm Angels
11. Angels Would Fall
12. Walls
13. The City of Falling Angels
14. Charlie's Angels
15. Hells Angels
16. War in Heaven
17. City of Angels (film)
18. Where Did the Night Fall
19. Angel
20. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle